Prime Times: Making a joyful noise

Singing and laughter were heard in equal measure during Edith Barnard’s Sing for the Health of It class at Illinois Central College North on July 19. “I think there was a transcendence there, did you hear that?” Barnard, 65, asked brightly when one team singing a round got off k...

Singing and laughter were heard in equal measure during Edith Barnard’s Sing for the Health of It class at Illinois Central College North on July 19.

“I think there was a transcendence there, did you hear that?” Barnard, 65, asked brightly when one team singing a round got off key. Laughter followed.

Singing and laughter, after all, have a lot in common. Both are relaxing and both build bonds between people. Barnard believes much good comes from singing.

“It improves stamina, improves your energy, and I know it exercises your brain and improves memory and concentration,” she said during a phone interview the day before her class. “You are also meeting new people and making a joyful noise.”

Since many people past their childhood years are shy about singing, Barnard encourages her students to channel their inner 5-year-old.

“You never hear a 5-year-old say they can’t sing,” she told her students. “You see? Something happens when you grow up.”

Barnard kicked off the two-hour class, part of ICC’s Adult Community Programs, by having each student introduce herself and explain why she signed up for the class.

“I sing with the radio and I would love to sing better,” said Vicki Arnold of Peoria. Jammie Brooks, also of Peoria, was looking for guidance in her new role as leader of the praise and worship team at her church, and Jan Whitehall of Pekin wanted to feel more confident singing with her children.

After introductions, Barnard led her students through a series of breathing exercises, again calling on the image of a child to help her students relax.

“I bet your little 3-year-old doesn’t have any trouble breathing because she doesn’t have any stress,” Barnard said.

With a degree in music education from the University of Illinois-Champaign in 1968 and a master’s degree in theater from the State University of New York at Binghampton in 1976, Barnard knows a bit about using the voice. Over the years, she’s coached businessmen to become better public speakers, and doctors to improve their bedside manner. She’s also worked with high school students preparing to interview for college, and even with a few folks hoping to improve their flirting skills. Barnard believes using the voice with confidence and charisma leads to a better life.

“Taking something and making it the best it can be, that’s what I do with the voice,” she said. “I love doing it. It’s my passion.”

Barnard also loves to perform. She’s been doing that since childhood.

“When I was 5 years old, I performed ‘How much is that Doggie in the Window?’ with my dog at nursing homes,” said Barnard. “My dad was a Methodist minister. I had a tiny dog, a Chihuahua, and we had a cute little painted cage. We took the dog in that.”

Page 2 of 2 - Barnard, whose parents were raised in southern Illinois, spent much of her childhood in central Illinois. Every few years her father was assigned to a different church, so they moved often.

“We went to Delavan for grade school, Moline for junior high, and Kewanee for high school,” she said. After graduating from college, Barnard said she “couldn’t wait to get the heck out of the Midwest,” and took a job teaching high schoolers music and theater in Bath, Maine, where she later opened a community theater.

One thing led to another, and Barnard found herself in Greece serving as the cultural ambassador for the U.S. government from 1979 to 1980. Later, she moved to Barbados for 11 years, all the while performing, teaching and pursuing her passion for theater.

In 2005 Barnard decided to move back home to central Illinois after her sister was widowed. Not sure at first if she would stay, Barnard made friends quickly and decided to make central Illinois her permanent home.

“I love Peoria. The people are so friendly,” she said.

Barnard teaches music, speaking, theater and, occasionally, flirting in the studio at her Peoria Heights home. Singing classes at her home each last an hour and go for eight sessions — the two-hour class at ICC gives students a taste of what a full semester of classes with Barnard is like.

“I help people feel confident that they can sing,” Barnard said. “I know that everyone can sing — singing is just dignified screaming, after all.”